My Birthday

I had my 26th birthday this past weekend! I have always been the one to count down the days to my birthday. I love celebrating them, but this one was tough. For some odd reason the idea of being closer to 30 than 20 is giving me the hardest time!

I always tend to evaluate my life on my birthday. I look at where I have been and where I am going. Is where I am good enough? Have I been who I have wanted to be? Have I achieved the goals I set for myself? Should I have more things figured out?

Then I think about the fact that life is always going to be full of questions without answers. ...And having the answers is not the purpose of life. Life is never going to be what you think it "should" be. It is always changing and the plan you have for yourself is guaranteed to encounter bumps and turns. I know I'm growing though and it feels good. I know I am truly finding me more and more everyday.

I feel so blessed that I was surrounded by my family who is always so loving and supportive. I was given such wonderful gifts! I will be able to shop at Anthropologie without feeling guilty. I received some play money to go furniture shopping...to enable a makeover with my new chalk paint I got for Christmas! I also got a gift card to have my nails done and I can't wait to dive into my new book, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. That just names a few and the 20 kisses from my niece and nephew as I was leaving was priceless. I would have to say my wish has already come true!

I have been going through a difficult time these past few months. I have had to re-evaluate a relationship that has been so important to me for five years and it is not easy. I'm sure you have noticed my absence on my blog. I hope you have been checking back for me every now and then! I really appreciate you listening today. I have missed sharing my life with you!

My New Groove

Hello All! I'm sure you have noticed I have been MIA for a few weeks! I slipped out of my blogging groove and wasn't feeling as motivated. I found myself living life through blog posts and needed a little break to find balance with experiencing life and sharing it on a blog. Thank you for checking back and being patient! I'm still so grateful to have an outlet to share my projects, ideas, and adventures. I also have loved getting feedback from all of you.

I have been working on quite a few projects and decorating for fall. I also have finished up two pieces of furniture that I can't wait to share! Now the bad news...I shut down my computer recently and the next day it would not turn back on! My computer bit the dust after 7 years. Hopefully, I will have a replacement for next week to edit my pictures and post about my projects.

Hope you all have been enjoying this fall. I can't believe the gorgeous weather we have been having! We have had full sunshine with temperatures in the 70's and 80's. This is so unusual for Indiana, but I'm not complaining!

An Awakening Moment

I had a major hiccup with my quote project and struggled to find the words or ideas to blog today. It was a busy day working in the salon and I had an awakening moment!

Halfway through my day, one of my regular clients arrived. As I walked up to talk about what we would be doing with her hair today, I noticed she looked very tired and upset. She had tears in her eyes as she told me she wanted to shave all of her hair off. I have been cutting this woman's hair for five years and have become close with her. We both just looked at each other and had a moment of pure reality of what this meant. We both had tears. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She had surgery and then went into remission. A few weeks ago it had gotten worse and she began a very forceful treatment causing her hair to fall out. She decided she couldn't stand the torture of finding clumps of hair on her pillow and decided to have me cut it all at once. I was very resistant at first, but after she had explained, I pulled her into my chair and told her how fantastic she would look! This is honestly a haircut I have never done before so I was telling her she was helping me as well. I took the clippers and began shaving her head as tears rolled down her face. This made it real. I began to lighten it up with other subjects and tried my best to make her feel good. 

She walked out of the salon with no hair on her head, but she was so brave with a smile. She inspired me today. This makes my daily problems seem so small. Thank God, for he gives us these awakening moments to teach us. I thank God for my blessings.

A Reflection

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! I had a fun-filled weekend with my family. My nephew turned 3 and we celebrated with a train themed party on Saturday. Sunday we enjoyed a fall festival including a car show, mud volleyball, a derby, and fabulous food! Yesterday, I got to start painting furniture again in the new barn and enjoyed just being around the farm.

I happened to catch a few pictures of the gorgeous sky Saturday night. This is truly a reflection of God's glory. This is how he expresses his goodness.



A little help...

Today I thought I would share something that has really helped me grow spiritually this past year. I have been listening to a radio station called K-LOVE. This station includes Contemporary Christian music and short educational elements that really help guide people to understand God more.

I have found listening to this radio station in the car really helps me think about and talk to God all day long. Before, I had a bad habit of only seeking God in the bad moments. I'm so glad that I have something like this that encourages me to pay close attention to the world around me and build my relationship with God.

This station has little interruption from music with no advertisements! K-LOVE also has updates on national news. You can listen to K-LOVE nationwide or online! You can find your local station here.

Have you heard of K-LOVE? I would love to hear if this station has made a difference in your life!

"Oh, the Places You'll Go!"

I apologize for being so absent this week. This is how I have been feeling...

"I'm sorry to say so

but, sadly, it's true

that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups

can happen to you.

You can get all hung up

in a prickle-ly perch.

And your gang will fly on.

You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch

with an unpleasant bump.

And the chances are, then,

that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,

you're not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself

is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.

Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.

A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!

Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?

How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right..

or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?

Or go around back and sneak in from behind?

Simple it's not, I'm afriad you will find,

for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You'll get mixed up, of course,

as you already know.

You'll get mixed up

with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's

a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)"

"Oh, the Places You'll Go!"

By Dr. Seuss

I had a hang up this week...I am ready for a weekend to relax and get out of my slump! Thank you for being so patient and understanding. Hope you all have a good weekend!

The Beginning

I have finally done it! I have been following blogland for awhile now and have decided to begin my very own. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there. Thank you to all of the wonderful bloggers who do just that. Because of you, I have been inspired to share my stories.

I'm in the beginning stages of learning a lot of new things in my life and about making a house into a home. I'm looking forward to sharing all of my stories along the way. I have also just begun restoring furniture as a new hobby and will be sharing my makeovers! Hopefully this blog will motivate me to begin sanding the five pieces of furniture from craigslist sitting in the garage! I owe a thank you to everyone who stops by and my family for the encouragement!